Chris Piumelli plays 'rock solid' to win Labor Day Invitational

BILL STARLING/Staff PhotographerChris Piumelli watches his tee shot Monday on the third hole of the final round of the Labor Day Invitational at the Country Club of Mobile. The University of South Alabama golfer won the tournament.

Monday's final round of the annual Labor Day Invitational at the Country Club of Mobile featured a change of play and strategy. After two days of stroke play to qualify for the final round and championship, the format switched to match play.

One thing remained the same: Chris Piumelli played solid golf.

The University of South Alabama golfer, who shot 5-under-par Saturday and Sunday to qualify in the top four spots for the tournament championship, continued his strong play, closing out Monday morning's semifinal match against Sam Love on the 17th hole, then defeating Ole Miss golfer Zach Primavera 6-and-5 in the championship match to win the Labor Day crown.

"I just played rock solid," Piumelli said of the title-clinching match. "I started off nicely, and tee to green I was just solid. I didn't make any bogeys, didn't make any mistakes and I had a couple of good par saves to win holes. It was fun. Just a solid round."

In the morning match, he made the turn 1 down to Love, but quickly produced a pair of birdies on the back side. A birdie at 15 put him 1-up and he closed things out at 17.

Piumelli said he liked the tournament format. "I think the hardest part of this week, without a doubt, was making it into match play," he said. "I shot 68-69 to make it (into the championship round) on the number for match play. That was the hardest part. And once you get in match play, it's anybody's game."

Monday, it was Piumelli's game. <EP>Primavera defeated David Barnett in the morning semifinal to reach the title match. In the afternoon, Barnett beat Love to finish in third place. Robert Nelson, with a strong round of 66, won the medal play consolation match among Championship Flight participants who didn't qualify in the final four spots.